Iran Country Assessment Military Assessment

Iran Military Assessment

Military Assessment

MILITARY OVERVIEW: The Cold War era and the arms race started in that time has made countries aware of the importance of maintaining a reasonable arsenal of weapons, specially attaining independence in manufacturing and assemblage of weapons. Many countries, starting with Korea started focusing on development of a strong defense industrial base. Establishment of this not just allows a country to gain relative independence in manufacturing of military equipment but also provides a means for assessing the capabilities and vulnerabilities. Of the existing Military arsenal. Such an assessment is not only beneficial to the world community for gauging threats posed by different nations but also to the countries politicians and military analysis's for weighing of and enhancement of said capabilities (RAAND document, pg. 136-138).

AT present the Islamic Republic of Iran is making use of the services of its 'regular forces' that is Army, Navy and Air force, also called Artesh, an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Division, an Aerospace Force, a special operations unit called 'Quds' and normal Law Enforcement divisions

. In 2007 the Iranian regular forces were made up of 420,000 active soldiers, the IRG corps contained 125,000 members.

According to an estimate the number of citizens available for service in 2010 included 23,619,215 men and 22,628,641 women between the ages of 16 and 49. Out of this around 20,149,222 men and 19,417,275 women were deemed fit and worthy of service in the Iranian military

. By 2011, the total manpower available for service rose to 46,247,566 but active military force amounted to just 545,000 and the reserves are estimated at 650,000. In comparison Pakistan has a larger number of active soldiers, 650,000 and a slightly less 528,000 are enlisted as reserves

. The difference in composition of the forces is mainly due to the disparity in political and geographical situation of the two countries, where Pakistan has its arch enemy India as the closest neighbor; Iran has no immediate threats to compete against. Up until the start of the 'war on terror' the biggest problem Iran had to face was the use of its borders for narcotics smuggling. Pakistan's military development was to provide it with a psychological and physical safeguard against India. Iranian military was first given its due importance so that it could serve as a strong pro-west watch dog to keep other Middle Eastern countries in check. In 1978, the ousted Iranian President Shah Pahlavi introduced a new military division by the name of 'Immortals' through the monetary and spiritual support of the U.S.A. This eventually led to Iran becoming the biggest military power in the area, even above the more populated Egypt. The current military make up, including the IRGC, is a product of the revolutionary era and has the successful defense against Iraqi invasion to its credit.

This deviation to a widely disliked form of government lost Iran its military support and lead to its first arms embargo

. Although problematic, this helped the nation become independent in military concerns. Today the country steers completely clear of military alliances but signed some agreements for supplying arms. One example is a 10-month, $4 billion, agreement with Russia for assistance in maintenance and designing of fighter planes

. In comparison Pakistan is completely reliant on other nations. Another measure that helps ascertain a government's seriousness and dedication towards enhancing military prowess is the portion of GDP allotted to it. It's no secret that differences between India and Pakistan have both countries spending a large amount on military installations. Pakistan spends 3% of GDP on Military and Iran spends 2.5%

. Their defense budget for 2006 was equal to U.S. $6.6 billion and it has been increasing. Some sources claim that the 2012 budget with an increase of 127% would be an estimated $415 billion

. Iran has learnt from the past, specifically, invasion of Iraq and Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Their basic military strategy is a mix of western techniques and Islamic ideology of martyrdom and is designed to defeat the strongest of opponents. Strategists acknowledge the country's weaknesses and resort to psychological warfare, with an aim to exploit enemy weaknesses to the maximum. They strive to increase the enemy's expenses and risks, the biggest of which in recent times has been the desire to avoid casualties. Iranians are not afraid of casualties. After the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan their strategy has mainly been designed according to U.S. army

a. GROUND WARFARE PROFICIENCY: Iran has recently decided to open up new bases in East, South and South Eastern parts of the country. The IRGC has divided the land warfare forces into 31 command units one for every province of the country. They call this system 'mosaic defense' and it is supposed to give each unit commander ample power to combat and take care of foreign / domestic threats in a better way. It makes use of Iran's natural barriers, the mountain ranges lining the border of the country. To stop and incapacitate any threat the IRGC has set up special cells in border areas. These are meant to ambush enemy base camps, cut off supply as well as communication lines for invaders and smugglers, both. The next line of defense is 'Artesh,' consisting of infantry, armored and mechanized groups. Next, are IRGC and last Basij, involved only in case of invasion scenarios. Their observation of Saddam's guerilla group fayadeen has made them devise a largely guerilla strategy. Thus in case of an attack the army will fight in groups dispersed all over the city instead of head on combat